A comparison of MANET emulation techniques for the production of a realistic testbed with global communication capabilities

The process of testing software that is to be deployed across an adhoc mobile networking environment is inherently challenging. The mobile domain introduces variable conditions mainly due to the wireless communications and the changing topology of the underlying network. Testing software is therefore difficult because of the sheer number of variables that must be considered in order to realistically replicate the intended deployment environment. In this paper we provide a comparison of two static, lab-based Mobile Adhoc Network (MANET) emulation techniques: MAC address filtration and channel separation. These techniques were deployed and tested on a testbed that had global communication links to the Internet. These techniques have been designed to help developers emulate the effects that mobility will have on their protocols and applications in a realistic environment, while reducing resource cost and logistical complexities that are inherent problems when testing across the intended network deployment. Specifically, we focus on the radio interference apparent in the two emulation techniques and show its affect on network performance.